FOWL Investigation
by MysticIris
Summary: When the plants in the forest around Twin Beaks plead for help, Bushroot and Liquidator answer the call. Who or what will they encounter as they search for the source of the trouble?
1. Dreams and Doubts

**Dreams and Doubts**

* * *

><p>Reginald Bushroot, the mutated plant doctor, sat alone on the ground shivering. His thin arms were wrapped around his legs as he peered hesitantly over his knees into the darkness. Everything around him was dark and there was no end in sight. Quickly, the botanist put his head down on his knees, fearing the darkness that engulfed him.<p>

_Master? _A small voice from the dark called. Bushroot raised his head slowly and listened carefully.

_Master._ It said again. _Master, help us! Please master!_

Suddenly, dozens of voices joined the one lone voice, pleading and begging for his aid.

_Master! Master, please help us! Come to us, Master! Save us!_

"Where are you?" Bushroot stood up and shouted into the dark. He finally recognized that these were plants calling for his aid. "What am I supposed to save you from?"

_This way!_ They pleaded with him. _Come this way, Master!_

A light shone in the dark and he saw a picture of two mountains in the distant, surrounded by trees. He walked towards the image and when his body touched it, the picture changed around him. Slowly walking forward, he suddenly surrounded by darkness again. He thought he saw a few gray walls, but he wasn't sure. He tapped his leafy fingers together nervously as he slowly walked forward.

The darkness kept getting thicker and thicker around him until finally he stopped moving. He looked around wildly, telepathically trying to reach the plants, but he could no longer hear them.

"Guys? Guys, where are you?" He spoke shakily, afraid to speak very loudly in the darkness.

A light fell upon him, grabbing his attention. Looking at his hands, he realized it was a deep, red light. His stomach sank as he slowly brought his head up to see the source of the light. He immediately shrank back as he saw that the red light was coming from a single, very large red eye that was hanging in mid-air.

Bushroot wanted to scream and run away, but he was too frightened to do anything. The eye narrowed and turned yellow. A hot yellow light flew out of the eye this time and covered his whole green body. He felt his skin burning as the hot fiery light engulfed him and all he knew was pain...

Bushroot gasped loudly as he sat up on the dirt floor. He clutched at himself, trembling and breathed heavily as he tried to calm down. He felt cold all over as he hugged his knees to his chest.

_It's that dream again, _he thought to himself as he started to calm down. _I've been having it on and off for two weeks now, but it keeps getting more vivid each time. Those two peaks look awfully familiar. _After a moment, he snapped his leaves together as he thought of where he had seen them. _Of course! Twin Beaks! Those mountains are from Twin Beaks! Then, that means the plants are calling me from there. I guess they want me to uh,_ he gulped, _take care of __**that**__ thing. Whatever __**it**__ is..._

The thought of the red floating eye made him shiver and want to curl up in a ball. The distress he heard from the plants was very real and he did want to help them. Still...

_Well, they can't expect me to, I mean, what can I do against that, really? I don't even know what it is. They are counting on me though, but I don't want to go by myself. If only someone would go with me...but who would want to..!_

"AHHH!" A startled Bushroot jumped high into the air as he felt something wet slide underneath his feet. The rush of water made him lose his footing when he landed and he fell to the dirt floor. Trembling at first, he relaxed when the water formed into the familiar canine that was the Liquidator.

"Do you have too much time on your hands? Want a new plan to liven up your day? Then, call on the Liquidator to spice up an otherwise uneventful day!"

"Hm, sorry to disappoint you, Likky," the plant duck muttered as he got back to his feet, "but I think I've had as much excitement as I can handle for today."

The Liquidator studied him at this response and Bushroot realized he must still look a little bit off from his nightmare. He tried to make himself appear more at ease, but he was too late to fool the keen eyes of his partner in crime.

"What's the matter, Reggie?" The water dog asked quizzically, tilting his head to the side at the other beings frightened expression. "Complexion analysts everywhere would say that you're looking a little pale."

Bushroot clenched his fists and forced himself to stop shaking. He breathed out a long sigh and said, "It's the plants by Twin Beaks. I think they're in trouble."

"Twin Beaks? That weird town by the mountain that was nearly taken over by pod plants last year?" Liquidator inquired making a bit of confusion apparent in his tone. "Four out of five market analysts would like to know how the plant master is aware of the plight of flora several hours away from St. Canard?"

"I've been having dreams about them. Nightmares really." He said in a small voice as he watched at the aqua dog before him. He frowned as he noticed the other villain raised an eyebrow at him as if to say that he found the explanation very unlikely. "Besides, you know that I can speak to plants telepathically and I can feel what they feel. Something's really bothering them and they keep calling to me to fix it." He finished with another sigh, closing his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest.

"So," the Liquidator continued after a period of silence, "what exactly does the caring plant doctor intend to _do_ about this?"

"I want to go there and see what's scaring them so much," Bushroot replied, though his shaky voice sounded very much like he wanted to do the exact opposite, "and, well, I want you to come with me. You know, if it isn't too much trouble."

The wet dog put his hands on his hips with a small frown on his muzzle. "The salesman side of the great Liquidator would like to know what's in it for him?"

"Helping your favorite partner in crime in a time of need?" The mutant scientist said, his blue eyes pleading with the other villain to come with him.

Liquidator's expression softened slightly, but he still remained obstinate. "Sorry, Reggie, but that's not enough to seal the deal. Any market analyst would show that I value our partnership, but the Liquidator still does not work for free."

Bushroot ran a hand through his petals in frustration. He **really** wanted to help those plants out by Twin Beaks. At the same time, their fear was contagious and he was scared to go on his own. He needed Liquidator to go with him or else he simply couldn't force himself to go.

"Well, in those nightmares, I have been seeing some bags of cash left in some of the room. Gold too." He added as he saw the dog's ears perk at the mention of money. His stomach was filled with guilt at lying to his long time ally, but he felt like he didn't have any other choice. "Probably left lying around by whoever is harming my plants. I bet you could snag some of their funds for yourself before anyone even noticed."

"Hmm, with the Liquidator's mighty abilities in both stealth and speed, the percentage of returns on this investment will be quite high!" The liquid dog mused aloud, a large grin spreading across his muzzle. He held out a hand, which the plant duck hesitantly shook. "You got yourself a deal, Reggie. When do we leave?"

"Um, whenever you're ready I suppose." Bushroot said, relieved that the dog would be coming with him, but also worried about what he would find in Twin Beaks. The red eye was flashing in his memory even when he willed them away.

"Great! The Liquidator is ready to go and he guarantees that he knows the quickest route to our destination." He grabbed the green duck's arm and gave it a little pull. "And as they say, there's no time like the present. Let's go, Reggie!"

"O-Okay," Bushroot muttered as he found himself being dragged out of his Greenhouse by the water mutant. He tried to keep his shivering to himself as they entered the cold night and descended into the nearest sewer drain.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in a small suburban home on Avian Way, a certain purple clad crime fighter was standing proudly on the living room couch, his cape drawn over his body.<p>

"Darkwing Duck, grand protector of St. Canard, has scoured the streets of St. Canard, looking for the smallest hint of a crime. He has diligently checked every alley, every corner, every devious rock looking for traces of the criminal element. The sneaky criminals of this city think that they can get past him, but little do they know that Darkwing Duck is always one step ahead of them. Nothing escapes the keen eyes sight and razor sharp instincts of Darkwing Duck!"

"Right." A certain red-haired girl spread out under the couch muttered. She swallowed a wad of popcorn before turning her head towards the bellowing crime fighter. "If that's true, then shouldn't you be out busting crooks instead of standing on the couch?"

"Well, uh," Darkwing pulled at his collar before putting a hand over his chest and proudly pronouncing, "I just figured that since I hadn't found anything on the streets, I would come home and look at the evening news. Using a reliable source of information is what a good crime fighter does after all."

"Sure, Darkwing." Gosalyn said over a mouthful of popcorn as she changed the channel to a monster movie. Darkwing was about to protest the move when his sidekick came in carrying a large bowl of popcorn.

"Ah, don't worry about it DW." Launchpad reassured him as he plopped down on the couch next to the shorter mallard. "Maybe the villains have some kind of holiday today or something."

"Oh, I hope not." Darkwing moaned as he slumped on the couch. He crossed his arms sulkily, pouting at the TV. "I haven't had anything to do all this week. I've only taken on a few minor crooks and they were just your two-bit burglars. Darkwing Duck needs action, adventure, and out of the ordinary cases to fulfill his crime fighting persona!

"Now, take it easy there, DW," Launchpad admonished as he shoved some popcorn into his mouth. "There's nothing wrong with a quiet evening at home every once in a while. Besides, you oughta be careful what you wish for. You don't know what could happen."

Darkwing imitated his words childishly before closing his eyes and giving his stubborn reply. "It doesn't matter what comes at him. Darkwing Duck is ready for anything!"

"Whoa, like that?" His pilot asked curiously.

"Like what—wah!" Darkwing jumped a bit as a small purple Thunderquack appeared right in front of his face. The mouth opened and a small rolled piece of paper came out. Recognizing the Thunderquack that delivered messages from SHUSH, Darkwing eagerly grabbed the piece of paper and unrolled it. His eyes scanned the words quickly, a smile forming on his beak as he finished reading it.

"Woohoo! Yes! Finally, a case!" The purple caped crime fighter shouted in pure ecstasy.

"What's it say, DW?" His sidekick asked him as Gosalyn turned around to listen in on the conversation.

"It says that SHUSH headquarters is picking up strange signals coming out of forest in Twin Beaks. They think that FOWL has set up some kind of base out there and their agents haven't been able to figure out the source of the trouble. So, naturally, they want the one and only Darkwing to solve the case."

"Twin Beaks?" Gosalyn repeated with a glint of wonder in her eyes. "That was the town that got taken over by those creepy pod plants, right? Keen gear! Maybe this time some robots from outer space have landed there and they're planning to take over the town." Darkwing raised his eyebrows at the idea in disbelief and Gosalyn frowned at him, feeling defensive. "Well, how else would you explain the weird signals that are coming out of there?"

"With logic and deduction, that's how." Darkwing replied smugly, while Gosalyn rolled her eyes.

"Right because logic and deduction worked so well the last time we were at Twin Beaks." His impudent daughter muttered, earning her an irritated glare from her father.

"One more comment like that, young lady, and you'll find yourself getting a signal from the grounded for a week frequency."

"Heh, heh," Gosalyn said with a big innocent smile on her face, trying to change the subject. "So, uh, when are we leaving?"

"Launchpad and I are leaving immediately for Twin Beaks." The masked mallard replied as he got off the couch. "You are staying here and going to bed."

"What? No way! I am not missing out on a trip to Twin Beaks!"

"Gosalyn, this is not the same as the last trip." Darkwing told her sternly. "This is FOWL that we're dealing with and you know how dangerous they can be. Who knows what kind of gadget they've built that can make a signal powerful enough to screw up SHUSH equipment?"

Gosayln crossed her arms obstinately and pouted, not moving from her spot in front of her father. Darkwing was about to get into another argument when Launchpad stepped in.

"Gee DW, maybe you should let her come." The pilot said in a helpful tone. "Sure it's FOWL, but SHUSH says they just want you to investigate some weird signal, right? For all we know, somebody could have just left the TV on or something."

"Launchpad, it's FOWL, not the Muddlefoots." The shorter mallard informed him wryly.

"Speaking of the Muddlefoots, I heard they've been wanting to visit Twin Beaks for a while now." Gosalyn interjected deviously. "Maybe if I go over there and say I want to go to Twin Beaks, they'll take me. Then, I can go into those woods and find the signal all by myself and—"

"You will do no such thing!" Darkwing snapped, putting a hand over his eyes. He looked over at Launchpad for support, but all he got was a shrug. Sighing, the caped crime fighter finally gave in. "Okay, fine, you can come. I hope I don't regret this."

"You won't Darkwing! You can trust me." Gosalyn said as she hopped on his lap as he sat down on the spinning chairs.

"Why do those words not reassure me?" He muttered to himself as he hit the mouse on the head and went to his secret hideout.

* * *

><p>In a few hours time, Bushroot and Liquidator had managed to get to the forest by Twin Beaks. Normally, this trip would have taken half a day, but with the pair of them using the water in the sewers as transportation, they arrived just as nightfall struck the forest. Following the directions the plants were sending to him, the pair emerged out of a manhole just outside of the strange town.<p>

The Liquidator shot out of the manhole and extended a hand down to help Bushroot up. The plant duck clung to the wet hand tightly as he was pulled out of the dark passage. He landed on the concrete street lightly and pulled his arms around himself as he entered the cool night air.

"A little nippy for my tastes." The mutant scientist said before turning to the liquid dog in concern. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Though the winter weather is known for having adverse side affects on the otherwise versatile Liquidator, he can confidently say that the fall weather is no match for his natural heating abilities." The wet dog said with his usual confidence.

"Um, right." Bushroot replied, figuring if the other villain was using his ad jargons then he was probably fine. He dropped the subject and pointed towards the forest in front of them. "My plants say the trouble is coming from somewhere in the middle of this forest."

"Then, why keep out fine floral customers waiting? It's time to see if we can ease our clients' worries."

The ex-salesman strode forward towards the trees and disappeared into the darkness. Bushroot took a few hesitant steps after him, then stopped at the entrance of the forest. After a long moment, the Liquidator came back to see what the hold up was.

"What's the matter, Reggie? Aren't you coming?"

"I am, I mean, I want to! I mean, it's just..." He took a deep breath and tapped his leafy fingers together in a nervous gesture. "It's really dark in there and this is one of those weird places. You know, one of those places where abnormal things happen." The liquid dog made a motion with his hand for the other villain to get to the point. "What I'm trying to say is what if we run into a ghost or something?"

It took all of the Liquidator's salesman training not to snort at the question. Instead he just raised an eyebrow at Bushroot and said in a deadpan voice, "There's no such thing as ghosts, Reggie."

"How can you be so sure?" The plant duck asked, still eyeing the forest uneasily.

"Inquiring minds want to know if his partner in crime has ever seen a ghost before?" The green duck shook his head in response. "Neither has the Liquidator and the Liquidator doesn't believe in things that he has not seen himself. Now, let's go!"

With that, Liquidator grabbed Bushroot's wrist and dragged him into the dark forest. The botanist gave a short squeak at the action, but otherwise didn't protest. After a few strides into the forest, the wet dog let go of the plant duck's wrist and they continued walking with Liquidator leading and Bushroot following.

The liquid dog strode forward confidently, his eyes glowing in the dark as he easily saw the way in front of him. Living in the dark sewers had given the Liquidator good night vision, which he was using to scour the forest for some sign of misgiving. Bushroot followed close behind him, his hands up by his mouth and his head whipping back and forth at the slightest noise.

A white glow caught the blue eyes of the plant doctor as he looked to his right to see what it was. As soon as he looked in the direction of the white blob, the thing was gone. Frowning and wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him, he turned his gaze forward again only to have another white glow catch his eyes. This time he turned to the left and what he saw left him speechless. The white glow was coming from a trio of skulls that were stuck together, each misshapen with toothless mouths opening and closing as if they were trying to speak. Finally, the three mouths opened at once and an eerie glow began to form inside the mouths. The terrified mutant looked in the direction the mouths were pointing and saw that they were aiming for Liquidator's back. Shivering in fright, he forced himself to turn away from the sight and run as fast as he could towards his partner in crime. He hoped he would catch the other mutant by surprise so that he could topple him over. He slammed into the other villain from behind as he ran as fast as he could.

"Whoa!" The Liquidator shouted as he was pushed over. Bushroot landed on top of him, sinking into his water somewhat since the wet dog wasn't solid. The plant duck clung to the dog's middle, expecting to feel some kind of attack go over his back and into the trees. When nothing happened, the mutant scientist looked up at where he saw the ghastly image and found that it had vanished.

"Reggie, inquiring minds would like to know what the big idea is?" The Liquidator asked irritably, as he tapped his fingers against the grass he was laying on. He dissolved into a puddle and reformed so that he was standing up again with his hands on his hips.

"T-There, there was something by that tree! It was a white image with three skulls and it was trying to shoot something at you! Honest!" Bushroot ended as the Liquidator began to look increasingly annoyed with him.

"There's nothing there, Reggie." The aqua dog told him after a quick glance, trying to keep his tone as neutral as possible. "Nine out of ten fear analysts say that your nervousness is making you see things."

"But it was right there! I know it was!" The plant duck whined in dismay. The Liquidator merely shook his head and gave the other mutant a hand to get back on his feet.

"We don't have time for this!" His partner in crime told him impatiently. "As I've always said, time is money, although in your case the amount of time you take may decide the expiration date of some of your leafy friends."

Bushroot opened his beak to say something, but closed in when he figured there was no point in arguing anymore. He followed Liquidator wordlessly as they continued to walk through the dark, twisted forest. The botanist kept flicking his eyes back and forth, watching for the image he had seen earlier. He stopped cold when he saw another apparition with three skulls sitting by a nearby tree. The skulls grinned at him and the plant mutant jumped into the air with a squeak. He ran forward and grabbed the Liquidator's arm, shivering violently.

The liquid dog raised an eyebrow at the action, to which Bushroot merely pointed to where he has seen the image last. The ex-salesman looked over in the direction indicated and saw nothing but a gnarly tree with some grass blowing in the wind. The Liquidator placed his head in his free hand with a sigh. This was going to be a long night...

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, up in the cloudy autumn sky, the Thunderquack was making its way to Twin Beaks and was about five minutes away from reaching its target. Gosalyn, who was delighted at getting to come along in spite of her father's protests, was watching the dark, foggy forests below with eager green eyes.<p>

"Keen gear! I wonder if we're going to meet any aliens like we did the last time? Or maybe we'll see some more body snatchers? Oooh, or maybe we'll see some real live ghosts?"

"Gee, um, I certainly hope not." Launchpad said as he pulled as his collar with a slight shiver.

"There's nothing to worry about, LP." Darkwing replied dismissively as he examined the ends of his fingers. "Ghosts are just the creation of the overactive imagination. Nothing more."

"Oh yeah?" His spirited daughter challenged, coming up to the side of his chair. "And how do _you _know? Do you have any proof that they don't exist, Mr. Wise Guy?"

"Do you have any proof they _do_, Ms-I-Watch-Too-Many-Horror-Movies-For-My-Own-Good?"

"Sure I do! What about Morgana's family?"

The caped crime fighter was loathe to admit that she had a point, but his mind came up with a quick counter point. "Morgana's family is comprised of **monsters**, not ghosts and you know it, young lady. Now, take your seat." Darkwing ordered before the red-haired child could respond in kind. "We're about to land."

"Hang on to your seat belts, guys! We're in for a bumpy landing." The pilot informed them with a chuckle as he brought them down. Both Darkwing and Gosalyn let out short cries of fear as they headed straight for a patch of tall Evergreen trees. The plane jostled back and forth roughly, eventually coming to a screeching stop.

"Well," the masked mallard said, feeling queasy, "that landing certainly felt familiar." The top of the Thunderquack opened and he started exiting the plane. "I wonder wh—Ahhhhhh!"

The purple clad crime fighter had failed to realize they had landed in the branches of a tree and he had stepped out of the plane onto empty air. He fell to the forest floor with a splat, pain shooting through his body.

"Yessss..." Darkwing wheezed out as he pushed himself up. "This pain definitely gives me that deja vu feeling."

"You okay, there DW?" Launchpad questioned as he and Gosalyn used a rope to climb down from the Thunderquack.

"Fine. Fine." The caped crusader said as nonchalantly as possible, trying to brush himself off. "Nothing the ever durable Darkwing Duck couldn't handle."

"Right." Gosalyn muttered, seeing right through her father's excuses.

"So, where's this place that SHUSH wanted us to investigate, DW? It is close to here, right?"

"That's where my secret hideout locator gadget should come in handy!" He pulled out what looked like a small remote control with a green grid, joystick and antenna on the top. "The latest in SHUSH technology, don't you know?"

The purple powerhouse turned on the device, which started beeping and showed a flashing dot a few minutes away from where they were standing. Following the directions on the grid, Darkwing led the way to their destination with Gosalyn and Launchpad following close behind him.

"Alright, according to this gadget, we should be seeing FOWL's secret base, right about oomph," the air was forced out of the duck's lungs as he crashed into a large metal structure, "now..." He finished as he backed up and brushed himself off.

The trio looked at the metal door in front of them in amazement. It was held up by a concrete entryway that sunk into the ground. The door itself was solid steel with no handle or door knob in sight and, after a quick investigation of the area, it was difficult for the crime fighter to tell how deep the concrete passage went into the ground.

"Gee, DW, this looks like a pretty solid seal." Launchpad told the purple clad duck as he knocked against the steel door with his fist. "How are we supposed to get in?"

"That's easy Launchpad. We just have to use our heads." Darkwing said as he put one finger in the air. He closed his eyes and walked forward as he continued his ramble. "With the powers of reasoning, logic and deduction, there isn't anything that we can't accompli—Ahhhh!"

The crime fighter disappeared from sight after stepping on a patch of dirt that turned out to be hollow. Gosalyn and Launchpad gasped at the same time and ran towards the spot where Darkwing had vanished. They both stopped at the entrance of the square hole and peered down to see what condition the fallen hero was in. He seemed to have crash landed on a couple of boxes and was sprawled out in a painful position, but otherwise appeared unharmed.

"Are you alright, Darkwing?" Gosalyn asked with concern clear in her voice.

"Fine. Fine. I meant to do that, you know." Darkwing replied egotistically. The response caused Gosalyn to roll her eyes, but inwardly she was relieved that he was okay.

"Nice job, DW!" His sidekick complimented innocently. "Way to use logic or deduction or well, whatever it was you used to find this hidden entrance!"

"Thanks, Launchpad." The masked mallard wheezed out as he cracked his aching back. Once he was finished stretching, he straightened up and fired his hook shot, catching it on the edge of the entrance.

"You two use the rope to climb down." The purple clad duck commanded as he peered down the dark passageway. "We don't have a moment to lose!"

Gosalyn easily slid down the rope to join Darkwing on the steel floors below. Launchpad looked a little nervous at going down into the dark cavern below, but he got on the rope and made his way down anyway. Once the pilot was on the ground, the crime fighter reclaimed his hook shot and stashed it away in his cape.

"All right, let's get moving." The short mallard said as he started walking forward with his gas gun in his hands. "I need to figure out what those felonious feathered felons at FOWL were up to when they built this base."

His spirited daughter placed her hands behind her head and followed behind her father with not a care in the world. Launchpad, on the other hand, placed his fingers to his bill as if he wanted to start chewing them. The dark, cold atmosphere of the place was giving him the creeps. Seeing that his companions were leaving him behind, he gulped and trotted to catch up to them.

* * *

><p>On the other side of the forest, Bushroot and Liquidator continued to make progress to their destination, though they were moving much slower than the liquid dog would have liked. His partner in crime kept jumping at the slightest movements and claiming that he saw things that weren't there. The Liquidator was trying to be patient, but he was finding that even his reserves were wearing thin as the plant duck continued to jump and yell every few minutes.<p>

They walked a few more paces with Bushroot still clinging to the ex-salesman's arm. The wet dog was thinking to himself that it was a good thing that he no longer had any circulation in his body when he saw something ahead of them that made his ears perk up.

"Well, look at that." The dog whistled as he pointed to a a metal door in the ground. Both mutants strolled up to it and saw that it had a flat, metal bar across it to block unwanted visitors, but that it was otherwise unlocked.

"What do you think that is?" Bushroot inquired, finally letting go of his fellow villain's arm.

"Only one way to find out." Liquidator replied with a shrug. He started pulling on the thick metal bar to remove it and the botanist came over to help. Between the two of them, they managed to pull the bar away from the door with little trouble. Then, Liquidator went over to the door, gripped the handle tightly and pulled it open with a grunt.

Both villains gazed inside the doorway to see some chipped stairs leading downward into a dark, steel room. Bushroot tapped his fingers together nervously at the prospect of going down and not knowing what awaiting them once they got past the entrance.

"Are you **sure** we have to do down there?" The green duck said in a small voice as he pointed a quivering leaf towards the pitch black passageway.

Liquidator raised an eyebrow at the question. "I suppose that depends on whether or not you want to help your fellow flora or not."

The botanist frowned slightly, knowing that the other villain already knew the answer. "Of course I do."

"Then, as any game show host worth his reputation would say, come on down!" The boisterous dog gestured to the plant duck to go down the passageway. Seeing that his partner in crime was making no move to go down the stairs, the Liquidator smiled and took the lead. Not wanting to be left alone, Bushroot followed quickly behind him, placing his hands on the others back.

The plant duck continued to shiver and cower behind the dog as they continued down the ill-maintained stairs. After what seemed like eons to the uneasy green mutant, the pair finally made it to the bottom of the passageway. There were a few dim lights still working in small underground room. Liquidator took a few steps forward and saw that the walls were lined with computers, radios, lasers and other equipment that seemed in disrepair. The water dog noticed several severed wires lining the walls that were sparking with electricity and he made a mental note to avoid those at all costs.

"W-What is this place?" Bushroot whispered softly, afraid that his voice might attract the attention of some unwanted guests.

"Your guess is as good as mine on that one." The liquid canine replied with a shrug. A scraping noise in the distance caught the attention of both villains as their heads both turned to an archway a few feet away from them. The plant duck ran up behind the Liquidator and wrapped his thin arms around his waist in fright.

"What was that?" The botanist asked shakily, still clinging to the ex-salesman's midsection.

"No idea," The Liquidator responded as he gently removed the arms from around his waist, "but four out of four explorers know that there's only one way to find out. Come on!"

"But what if it's some ghosts causing trouble?" Bushroot commented as he reluctantly followed behind the watery ex-salesman.

"Ten out of ten paranormal investigators would show that there's no such thing as ghosts." Liquidator told him trying to keep his tone neutral at what he considered to be an inane question. The wet dog stopped abruptly when he heard the same scraping sound again. In the dim lights above and in the sparks let off by the broken wires, he could tell that something was moving.

"Stay here." He ordered Bushroot as he slid forward silently. As quick and noiselessly as he could he shot a powerful stream of cold water at the shadowy object in the distance. To his surprise, the short being shorted out and spun wildly upon the impact, falling gracelessly to the cold floor. Puzzled, the aqua dog went forward towards the white steam that seemed to be appearing from the creature. Feeling confident that it was dead, the Liquidator grabbed the thing as best he could and dragged it into the waning light.

"Look at this." Liquidator said with a whistle. Bushroot came over to his side and gazed down upon the metal being with interest. It had a rounded head with two glowing yellow eyes. Its body was an off color of yellow and there was rust in some places around its joints. "It's some kind of robot."

"You're right. What do you suppose it was supposed to do?"

More scraping noises alerted them to the presence of more robots. Liquidator sprung up at the sounds in front of him and smiled at his companion who was starting to looked spooked again. "Let's take some first class initiative and find out!"

He grabbed the botanist's wrist and dragged him forward as they went towards the source of the noise. They went straight until they stopped under a dirt archway and the light from some of the robots showed them what was going on. The small trash can like beings had long thin arms with shovels on the ends of them. They tirelessly spun themselves into the dirt around them, making piles of it on the floor behind them.

In the distance of the dark dirt tunnel, Liquidator thought he saw something flash. "Wait here." He instructed the other mutant as he sloshed forward to investigate. The liquid canine stopped abruptly when he found what had caught his eye. A small metal chain with a few letters written on it was shining in the dark. Liquidator took a step back abruptly when he realized that the chain was attached to a duck's corpse.

Blinking in surprise and a bit of shock, the ex-salesman bent down to take a closer look. The condition of the duck's corpse told him that it hadn't been dead for very long. Liquidator guessed he'd only died a week or two ago. He picked the chain up in his wet fingers to examine the lettering on it and found that it spelled the world "FOWL." He then realized that the duck was garbed in the standard uniform of one of FOWL's eggmen.

_Eight of ten detective surveys find that this must have been an underground FOWL base. _The water dog thought as he placed a hand underneath his chin. _Then, the next question is, who or what tore this place up so badly? _

He got out of his crouch and looked around at the robots, wondering what they were up to. His hollow blue eyes widened as he saw piles of roots sitting next to several of the robots. The Liquidator watched the robots claws dig into the soil and tear out more of the roots from the plants located above them. Cautiously, he approached the mechanical beings and picked up some of the roots to show to his leafy companion.

The wet dog returned to Bushroot only to find the plant mutant looking back and forth in a paranoid manner. He had one leafy hand up by his bill, as if he wanted to start chewing the thing in his nervousness.

"What is it now, Reggie?" Liquidator asked, trying not to sound as exasperated as he felt.

"I, well, I thought I heard some voices down here. I think they were coming from over there." The green mutant told his watery companion as he pointed off into the distance in front of him.

"Nine out of ten fear analysts show that you're starting to hear things." The ex-salesman spoke dismissively before holding up the pile of roots he had found. "In other news, the grand and powerful Liquidator may have found the source of your leafy friend's dismay.

"Oh, those are plant roots! Poor, poor things! Where did you find them?"

"Over by that dirt tunnel." The Liquidator pointed in the direction where he had just come from. "They're digging into the walls, increasing the tunnel space. They're ripping out the roots as they do it. All market research concludes that having your roots pulled out probably hurts a whole lot."

"You don't know the half of it." Bushroot muttered with a shake of his head. "Is there anyway to stop the robots?"

"You're asking if the watery powers of the Liquidator are capable of shorting out a bunch of walking tin cans?" The wet criminal asked rhetorically, smiling very smugly at the thought. "The Liquidator advertises that he could take care of such faulty tin cans in his sleep without any problems."

"Well, then, by all means," the plant doctor gestured for him to go and use his powers.

The Liquidator strode forward confidently and stopped when he was in range of the robots. He formed a hose at the ends of both his arms and aimed for the lines of working robots. Powerful gushes of water engulfed the unsuspecting metal beings at they were washed away in a powerful deluge. When the water died down, the robots were left sprawled on the cold ground, sparking and utterly useless.

Bushroot watched the spectacle from a distance and smiled at his partner in crime as he walked back over to him, rubbing his hands together in satisfaction.

"So, the former sales dog wants to know how his customer service ranking pans out with the flora of the plant world? Are they now feeling more at ease thanks to the glorious powers of the Liquidator?"

"Let me check." The plant duck muttered before closing his eyes and started to communicate with the plants outside the underground base. They were a bit more at ease now that their roots weren't being torn at, but something was still making them very edgy. Bushroot opened his eyes with an uneasy expression on his face. "Sorry, but that didn't do the trick. They do appreciate you getting rid of the robots, but something is still bothering them."

"Can they be more specific and tell this curious operator what's making them so upset?"

"I've already tried asking them what it is, but every time I press them they just get more frightened and stop talking. Whatever it is, it feels very unnatural to them. At least, that's the sense that I get."

"'Unnatural?'" The Liquidator repeated curiously before an echo caught their attention. Bushroot squeaked at the noise and hid behind the water dog in fear. The aqua dog merely raised his ears and tried to pinpoint the source of the noise.

"W-w-what was that?" Bushroot asked in a quivering voice.

"Couldn't tell you." His partner in crime responded before taking a step forward and gesturing for the other villain to follow him. "Sound analysts everywhere suggest that the noise came from this direction."

Bushroot followed closely behind Liquidator as they went further into the dark passageways. The plant mutant began to think that the place was beginning to look a bit too much like his dream. A noise behind him startled the poor frightened duck and he gripped Liquidator tightly. This time, Liquidator sloshed out his grip and glided in front of the scared plant mutant. His eyes narrowed as he tried to see what made the sound. Both of them began backing up slowly, keeping their eyes peeled and wondering what was going to happen next.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Alright, so this is a story I started back in late October and wanted to finish a while ago. When November hit and Nanowrimo went into full swing, I put it on hiatus to focus on some original work. I really wanted to go back to just writing a fun Darkwing story starring two of my favorite villains in Liquidator and Bushroot. This was originally supposed to be a one-shot story, but it was getting to long, so I decided to make it a two parter. I hope you have enjoyed it so far and are interested enough to stick around for the conclusion.<p> 


	2. The Root of the Problem

**The Root of the Problem**

* * *

><p>Darkwing, Launchpad and Gosalyn continued their search through the long, deserted FOWL base. So far, their search had turned up nothing other than a few broken down robots and frayed sparking wires. Darkwing was keeping his eyes peeled, looking for any sign of what could be causing the weird signal he had been called to investigate. Meanwhile, Gosalyn was feeling more and more bored as they walked down the empty passageways and was wishing that something, <em>anything<em> exciting would happen soon. Launchpad, on the other hand, seemed like he was ready to jump out of his skin at any moment, frantically glancing back and forth in the dark passage.

The trio came to an abrupt halt when they heard some kind of noise coming from their left. It had sounded like a yell, but the echoes diluted the noise and made it hard for the three ducks to pinpoint. Then, they began to hear something like a soft murmuring, which disappeared after a brief moment.

"What was that?" The purple hero questioned as he took a few cautious steps forward. He was trying to figure out where the sound had come from.

"Maybe we're not alone down here." Gosalyn remarked eagerly with a sparkle in her green eyes.

"Gee, y-you don't think it's a g-ghost, do you?" Launchpad questioned worriedly, shivering where he stood.

Darkwing rolled his eyes at his sidekick. "There's no such thing as ghosts, Launchpad."

Another strange sound came from the distance and echoed all around them. Darkwing placed his hand under his chin, thinking the noise sounded familiar.

"T-Then, what's making that sound?"

"That's what logic and deduction are going to tell us!" The short mallard said as he started trotting in the direction of the sounds. "Come on!"

Gosalyn trailed close behind him, while Launchpad hesitated a bit. When the pilot realized he was being left behind, he ran to catch up to the others.

Darkwing stopped when he found an adjoining passageway to his left. Taking out his gas gun, he motioned for the others to follow him while he took the lead. They moved slowly forward in silence with everyone taking in the sights. They continued to look for any sign of misgivings until they heard something that sounded like screaming coming from behind them.

Everyone whipped around and peered into the darkness before them. The sounds were faint, but a few voices seemed very distressed while one of them sounded quite angry. Darkwing pointed his gas gun towards the darkness, taking steps back and waiting for something to appear. Gosalyn was at her father's left, putting up her fists and moving back at the same pace as him. Launchpad had one hand up by his mouth, looking like he wanted to chew it and moved backwards with the others.

For one long moment nothing happened and everyone started to relax a little. Then, Launchpad felt something bump into from behind and he screamed at the top of his lungs in fright. Another voice joined in on the screaming as the trio whirled around to see what they had run into. Launchpad was clinging to Darkwing tightly, while Gosalyn had grabbed on to one of his arms, scared by the sudden scream from Launchpad.

The crime fighter studied the source of the trouble to see a tall blueish figure that was constantly flowing and a skinny green figure that was clutching at the other in its hysteria. It took a moment for the noise to die down and for Darkwing to realize what it was he was staring at.

"Ow, my ears!" The Liquidator exclaimed, glaring at Bushroot, who's scream had been directed right into the canine's large dripping ears. He rubbed the left one in his pain as his other arms was caught up in the other villain's green vines.

"Heh, heh," Bushroot let go quickly and smiled sheepishly, hoping his partner in crime wasn't too angry with him. "Sorry, Likky."

"Aha!" Darkwing exclaimed triumphantly. "Liquidator and Bushroot! I should have know you two conniving criminals were behind all of this!"

"Behind all of what?" Bushroot asked in annoyance as he crossed his arms at the accusation.

"Well, uh," the purple clad crime fighter thought for a moment before continuing on with his normal confidence, "you two are obviously working with FOWL in this underground base and you're the ones who are making the signal that is screwing up SHUSH equipment."

Liquidator snorted loudly. "Bravo Darkwing Duck. The aggrandizing aggravation of St. Canard has once again proven why he is the biggest dunce in the entire crime fighting industry."

"It must be nice to be first at something." Bushroot added with a snicker.

"Wisecrack all you want, you meddling mutants," Darkwing declared as he raised his gas gun, "but you shall face justice for your crimes or my name isn't Darkwing Duck!"

"What crimes?" The plant mutant said with his hands spread in question. "We haven't **done** anything!"

"You expect me to believe that?" The short mallard spoke cockily. "The two of you are master criminals with records longer than the road from here to St. Canard. Logically, you must have something to do with this."

"I guess that makes sense," Liqudator started, watching Darkwing puff up with pride at the admission, "if you were taught logic from Wonderland that is."

The purple crime fighter deflated quickly and narrowed his eyes. "I've had just about enough of your smart mouth."

"And this dissatisfied customer has had enough of your false accusations." Liquidator shot back with a sneer. "Since our dimwitted defender of the night is so fond of facts, how about I give you a couple to test your theory on. First off, Bushroot and I have never worked for FOWL in any of our previous capers. Why would we do so now?"

"Well, you could be trying to make some new contacts." The masked mallard defended, gloating a bit at the sound reasoning of the claim.

"Ah, but the Liquidator is already familiar with several big time criminals in the FOWL organization. Who else could he possibly be trying to contact?"

"Well—" Darkwing started, but the watery villain wouldn't let him continue.

"Secondly, this base is clearly hurting the plant life in the forest entrenched directly above us." Liquidator pointed upwards at some of the roots poking through the ceiling to emphasize his point. "Why would Bushroot, the master of all things floral, agree to help with an operation that hurts plant life?"

"He's got you there, Darkwing" Gosalyn remarked sardonically.

"Please don't help them." The aggravated mallard replied back with a sour face.

"Lastly, why would the Liquidator, a master of profits and strategies, waste his valuable time invested in a dump like this?" The water dog motioned for the crime fighter to look around at the poor condition of the base. "There's no profit to be made in guarding a run down base with rock bottom property values, particularly when there's no one around to pay the Liquidator for his services."

"Gee, DW, maybe he's tellin' the truth." Launchpad piped up in a neutral manner. "It does seem kind of odd that the two of them would be down here working for FOWL when they've never worked for them before."

Darkwing opened his mouth to say something, but finding that he had no retort he let his face settle into an ugly glower.

"Okay, fine." The crime fighter waved his hands in frustration, hating to be proven wrong. "If you're not working for FOWL, then _what_ exactly are you doing down here?"

"I'll leave that explanation to my leafy associate." Liquidator motioned at Bushroot and stepped back so that he was positioned front and center.

"Um, you see," Bushroot started slowly, feeling uncomfortable being the center of everyone's attention, "I've been having bad dreams about the plants around Twin Beaks. Nightmares, really and they've gotten really strong recently. So, I decided to try and help them. The two of us came to Twin Beaks and the plants told us the trouble was coming from somewhere in this forest. That's how we found this place and, well, why we're here."

"I see." Darkwing spoke in a tone that said he didn't entirely believe what he'd heard. "If you're just here trying to help some plants then why is he here with you?" The short mallard was pointing to the Liquidator as he spoke.

"That's simple. I'm here to increase my profit margins."

"How so?" The purple clad duck asked with a tilt of his head.

"Bushroot said that in these dreams of his there was some gold left over from whatever operation was being held here. Once we put an end to the plight of the frightened flora, I intend to collect this money as payment for my services."

"Right." Darkwing muttered, staring at Bushroot as he said this. The plant duck was rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, looking at any direction but his partner in crimes. It didn't take much detective work to realize that was a lie, but the crime fighter decided they had more important things to worry about.

"So, in this dream of yours, do your plants tell you what's causing them to be upset?"

"N-Nothing specific." Bushroot answered with a slight quiver, not wanting to talk about the giant eye he'd seen in his dream or the burning yellow light. "Just that it's something unnatural."

"What kind of unnatural?" Gosalyn asked, perking up at the word. "Is it zombies or aliens or maybe some giant robots from outer space?"

"They aren't telling me that." The plant mutant answered in a voice that said he was very grateful that it wasn't any of the things she had just listed. "They just say it's unnatural. They're too scared to say anything else."

"Y-You don't think it's ghosts, do you?" Launchpad asked nervously.

"I-I sure hope not." Bushroot answered in an equally nervous voice.

"For the last time, there's no such thing as ghosts!" Darkwing and Liquidator exclaimed together. The hero and the villain stared at each other in disbelief for a moment before both of them had looks of discomfort on their faces. As much as they were both glad to have someone else around who agreed to that sentiment, they also didn't like that they agreed with each other on anything.

"Well, we're not going to figure this out just standing around here." Gosalyn said impatiently, crossing her arms over her chest. "You guys came from back that way, right?" The red-haired duckling was pointing behind them and the two villains nodded. "We came from back that direction, so that only leaves one way that we haven't gone yet." She pointed back the way they came and motioned towards the path that turned left and went farther up into the base. " I bet if we go that way, we'll find what's causing all this trouble."

"Sounds good to me." Bushroot said with a small shrug. "Let's go."

"Hey, hey, wait a minute." Darkwing cut in with a suspicious glance at the two villains. "Who said you were coming with us?"

"What, now we need a written invitation?" Liquidator snapped back in annoyance. "We are two innocent investors who are inside this base on business. Legal business, as the magnificent Liquidator sees it. If Bushroot is correct and the thing causing the trouble is unnatural, then what better way to deal with the problem then with the help of two rather unconventional beings?"

"He has a point, DW." His sidekick said with a shrug. "Their powers might come in handy in this situation."

"Take their side, why don't you?" The masked mallard muttered unhappily. He looked at the two mutants again and let out a big sigh. "Fine, you two can come, but just that I'll be watching you. If you try anything funny, you'll face the wrath of Darkwing Duck!"

"Oh, well, that's good enough." The aqua dog answered with a smirk on his face. "For a moment there, the Liquidator thought you were going to threaten us."

Bushroot snickered a little as the insult sunk in and Darkwing stared at the water dog in pure fury. He was about to launch a verbal onslaught on the villain when someone yanked his cape.

"Come on, Darkwing. We're wasting time!" Gosalyn spoke petulantly as she continued to pull on his cape. The crime fighter gave his two nemeses once last warning look before he turned around and followed the spirited red head.

The group made their way down the dark passageway and turned left to head upwards. It got much darker as they went deeper into the base and Darkwing was forced to take out a small flashlight and shine it in front of them so that they could see. The farther up they went, the more damage the passageway seemed to have taken. At one point, he thought his flashlight landed on a what looked like a dead body, but he shined the light away quickly, not wanting his daughter to see it.

Everyone stopped abruptly when a series of shouts and yells caught their attention. The group looked in every direction until Gosalyn pointed straight ahead towards a small glowing light.

"Look, it's coming from over there!" She shouted as she ran towards the light in the distance.

"Gosalyn, stop!" Darkwing ordered as he sprinted forward to catch up with her. The others followed close behind as they entered a large room with several broke control panels all over the room. There was a set of desks with small computers screens in the middle of a raised surface. Gosalyn was leaning over one that was still online and was fiddling with the controls. The crime fighter walked over towards her, figuring that this was probably the security room."

"Gosalyn, what have I told you about running off?" He demanded angrily with his hands on his hips.

"Never mind that now." Gosalyn replied petulantly, but her attitude quickly changed when she saw the look her father was giving her. "Heh, heh, what I meant to say was, look at this! I think it's footage from one of the security cameras."

They all looked at the blurry screen, trying to make out what was happening. Though the video was poor quality, they were able to make out a couple of things. The first were armed egg men, pointing their guns at a large figure looming before them. The second was Steelbeak, who was standing a little in front of the egg men. His hands were in front of his body and he clearly appeared to be pleading with the massive being in front of him. The figure got closer and everyone leaned in to see what had gotten the FOWL agents in the video so nervous.

Gosalyn was the first to recognize the figure, sucking in her breath. "It's Taurus Bulba!"

"You're right!" Launchpad's eyes widened as he saw the cyber being march forward. "What was he doing here?"

"I think we're about to find out." Darkwing responded grimly.

Something Steelbeak said caused Taurus Bulba's eyes to glow red. He roared in anger and a laser shot from the top of his helmet. Then, he began to blast all of his weapons, shooting at random and causing excessive damage to all the machinery around him. Steelbeak and the FOWL egg men scattered, running for their lives as the bull continued his rampage.

The carnage went on for a few minutes until the picture shook a little and Taurus Bulba looked behind him. He seemed to be a little surprised at something before a yellow light hit him and pushed him off screen. A few more beams of light, an angry cry from Taurus Bulba and the picture faded out.

Bushroot took a step back from the desk with a leaf by his beak. That yellow light looked exactly like the one from his dream. It cemented his fears that whatever was behind his plant's fears had something to do with the eye monster he'd seen in his dreams.

Liquidator whistled as the screen went back to static. "Well, at least we have the insider knowledge of who tore this place up." He turned to Bushroot with a question in his hollow eyes. "Say, Reggie, is Taurus Bulba still here? He does fit the category of unnatural. Perhaps his presence here is what's bothering the plants."

"I'll ask them." The mutant scientist said softly, even though he knew what the answer would be. After his thoughts were confirmed, he shook his head. "No, he's not down here anymore." He paused as he received a bit of additional information. "They are saying he has something to do with the thing they're afraid of. They think that Bulba was what made it angry in the first place."

"Can you ask them to be a bit more specific?" Darkwing asked impatiently.

Bushroot shook his head firmly. "Sorry, but there still too frightened to be very specific. They just keep saying that it's unnatural."

"Some help they are..." Darkwing muttered childishly. The plant duck frowned at the statement and was about to protest it, when the little red head jumped between them.

"Never mind the plants. Didn't you guys notice something about the room in that video?" Gosalyn asked with her arms crossed.

"Um, that FOWL isn't much for décor of any kind?" Launchpad guessed with a shrug. The little duckling slapped a hand on her face at the suggestion.

"No! Didn't you see all the buttons and gadgets against the walls behind Bulba? It had so much stuff in it and it was way bigger than any of the rooms we've been in so far!" Gosalyn explained quickly before turning to Liquidator and Bushroot. "You two haven't found a room that size before, have you?" Both of the mutants shook their heads to show that they hadn't. "Then, there's only one place it could be." She pointed to the wide hallway to her left, which they had yet to explore. "I bet that the main control room is probably at the end of this hallway."

"Of course!" Darkwing added, as he pieced the puzzle together. "If Bulba wanted to destroy this base, then what better place to start wreaking havoc than the main control room? His weapons probably damaged a bunch of equipment in there and that's what's causing the weird signal. Once we access the control room, we can shut down all the malfunctioning equipment and the base will be completely disabled."

"Hm, the grand Liquidator does not think it will be that easy." The water dog commented seriously.

"Oh? And does the "grand Liquidator" have any reason for his doubts?" Darkwing questioned stubbornly, not liking to be challenged on his ideas.

"I have more of than a reason, Darkwing Dunce. I have video evidence." The wet canine commented casually as the crime fighter listened to him impatiently. "Didn't you see the light that hit Bulba right before the camera cut out?" The masked mallard nodded in response and the Liquidator continued. "Weaponry experts everywhere would say that was a very high tech laser, which was probably a part of a high tech security system designed by FOWL. Taurus Bulba may have damaged the base, but it doesn't look like he disabled the security system in the room. If the security system is still active, the Liquidator believes that St. Canard's local crime fighter will be in for more than he bargained for."

Darkwing was loathe to admit that the villain had a point, but he couldn't deny that it made sense.

"We could try cutting the power to this entire structure." Bushroot piped up in a helpful voice. "If these videos are still running and the walls are still sparking with electricity, then there must be a power source somewhere. If we turn that off, the security system will be shut down and then it will be easy to get to the control room."

"No, no, that will never work." Darkwing said dismissively as he paced back and forth in the small room. He snapped his fingers and stood up straight as he thought of something. "I know! We could cut the power source to the base. That way the security system will be disabled and we can reach the main control room."

"Wow, great idea DW!" Launchpad said enthusiastically, not noticing the sour expression on Bushroot's face.

"All in a nights work." The crime fighter said pompously before he started walking back the way they came. "Come on gang! Let's find that power source and shut it down."

Just as he was about to reach the entrance, the metal door came to life and slid down right in front of him. Darkwing yelped at the bang it made and jumped back towards the others. Once he recovered, Darkwing went back to the door and tried to lift it back up, but it was no use.

"W-What happened?" Launchpad asked nervously.

"It looks as though someone didn't like the idea of us cutting the power source." Liquidator commented neutrally.

Gosalyn gulped. "Or some_thing_."

Bushroot put a leaf by his bill as if he intended to chew it. He shared a nervous glance with Launchpad. "Y-You d-don't think it's a—"

"Don't say it!" Liquidator snapped impatiently as the purple crime fighter came to stand with the group.

"Looks like there's only one thing for us to do now." Darkwing said grimly, gripping his gas gun tightly. "Everyone stay close and keep your eyes open. Don't wander away from the group." He added, keeping his eyes on Gosalyn as he said it.

Everyone nodded and they headed down the one passageway they hadn't explored yet. They moved as quietly as they could, searching for any signs of misgivings with their eyes. Just as they were about to relax, the door they entered through slammed shut behind them. Everyone jumped and whirled around at the sound.

"W-Why did it—"? Bushroot whimpered nervously, sharing dismayed glances with the others.

A creaking sound in front of them alerted them to the door slowly moving down before them, threatening to trap them in the room.

"Run!" Gosalyn shouted as she sprinted ahead of the group. The others hastened to follow her.

Doors continued to slam down behind them until they ran out of the small passageway and into a large circular room. The final door to the passageway shut as everyone in the group, except the Liquidator, hunched over to catch their breath.

"Now I know what Indiana Duck feels like." The red-haired duckling muttered as she stared at the closed door behind them.

"It's so dark in here..." Bushroot whispered to the others, wrapping his thin arms around his body. He had never liked being in total darkness and that feeling had increased with his plant mutation. "What is this place?"

The Liquidator's hollow blue eyes glowed in the dark room, scanning their surroundings. He took a few steps away from the others to examine the room. "It seems that we have completed our mission objective and are in the control room."

Darkwing started to walk up beside Liquidator when he heard a noise that made him stop. He raised his gas gun and listened carefully for the source of the noise. It sounded like something was sliding on the floor, but he wasn't sure what. It only sounded like something electrical was whirring, but no one could see where it was coming from.

"S-Something's in here, isn't it?" The plant mutant stammered out with a tremble.

"I-It could be the g-ghosts!" Launchpad added with a shiver.

Darkwing's temper flared at the sentence, all caution thrown to the wind as he turned around to face the pilot.

"For the last time, there's no such thing as ghosts!" Darkwing practically shouted, waving his arms about wildly. Aggravated, he turned to the one person in the group he thought would agree with him. "Right, Liquidator?"

Darkwing was standing behind the dripping dog and thus could not see the expression on his face. The Liquidator was gazing up at something that had appeared out of the darkness and his hollow blue eyes had gone really wide. He swallowed loudly and pointed a shaky finger at what he saw before him.

"Actually, the Liquidator is ready to retract his previous statement..."

"What? Not you too! What's gotten into..."

Darkwing trailed off and went pale as he saw what it was the liquid dog was staring at. The arm holding his gas gun went limp and he too pointed at the thing before them with a shaky finger.

"Oh, well, **this** certainly changes things..."

Gosalyn, Launchpad and Bushroot all looked in Darkwing's direction at the sound of his unusual quavering voice. It didn't take them long to notice what it was that had made Darkwing's voice get shaky. At the sight of the massive glowing shape in front of them Gosalyn gave a small shout, while Bushroot and Launchpad really screamed, hugging each other tightly as they continued to stare at the scene before them.

"W-What **is** that thing?" Launchpad demanded as he trembled with Bushroot.

The thing before them began to materialize more fully and the entire group gaped at the sight of it. The ghost manifested itself in the shape of a massive head with sickly brownish-yellow skin in the front with no ears, mouth or nose. The only thing it had was a large, glowing red eye with a yellow slit for a pupil. The top of the head seemed have traces of red and blue running along the top of it, but in the darkness it was too hard to tell what any of it was.

The red eye narrowed and a deep, low rumbling filled the room as the speakers came on full blast and filled the room with the words, "Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Destroy all targets immediately!"

As the red eye began to glow yellow, Bushroot recovered his senses and pushed Launchpad away quickly. "Move!" He shouted as loudly as he could in his quavering voice, snapping the others out of their stupor. Everyone was quick to heed his advice, running to either the right or left as a hot, fiery yellow beam was shot from the eye. The blast left a huge steaming indentation in the floor where all of them had stood just moments before.

Darkwing gulped as he assessed the damage done by the beams. "Yikes..." He mumbled as he turned his gas gun back on the thing, trying to think of what to do. He noticed that Launchpad and Bushroot were both on the other side of the monster, while Gosalyn and Liquidator were nearby him. He raised his gun to try to fire at the unnatural being, but the outline of the monster wavered slightly and then disappeared from his view.

"Darkwing, look out!" He heard Gosalyn shout before a he felt a sharp, hot pain on his tail feathers.

"Yikes!" He shouted again, jumping into the air and danced from foot to foot, frantically trying to cool off the burning spot on his tail feathers. A large splash of water drenched him from head to toe, cooling down the effected area and leaving him dripping wet.

"Thanks..." He muttered halfheartedly at the Liquidator, who was grinning at the masked mallard's pitiful soggy state. Ignoring the dampness of his outfit, Darkwing flipped around to see what had fired at him, only to barely dodge a small red laser that was aimed right at him. He jumped to the side to dodge that only to have to jump in the air again to dodge another one.

"I-It's the skulls from earlier!" He heard Bushroot shout from across the room and Darkwing looked up to see what he meant. He could see trios of skulls lined up across the wall, glowing an eerie white color. Whenever the mouths opened, a red laser shot at either Gosalyn, Liquidator or himself. On the other side of the room, he noticed the same trio of skulls had appeared on the other side of the room with Launchpad and Bushroot dodging them as quickly as they could.

Above them, the monster seemed to be flickering in and out of sight. From what the masked mallard could tell, it had moved closer towards the ceiling, its single eye back to its red color while it observed the chaos below. Darkwing had the sinking feeling it was studying them all and looking for the best opportunity to strike them down with its deadly eye beam. The purple powerhouse, tired of dancing to the monster's tune, raised his gas gun at one of the trio of skulls in front of him and narrowed his eyes.

"Let's get dangerous!" He said in a strong tone as he fired his gas gun at the skulls. The gas canister seemed to go right through them and crashed into something solid behind them. The trio of skulls disappeared, revealing a simple laser gun that had been attached to the wall. The sparking electricity coming from the now disabled gun revealed a large control panel beneath it.

"Holograms!" Darkwing shouted as he reloaded his gas gun to take out another the laser guns. "The skulls are just holograms created by that monster to scare us!" The masked mallard fired another canister at the skulls, making the image disappear and disabling another laser gun.

The Liquidator took his lead and started spraying water at the machinery to disable it, causing several of the guns to short out. Darkwing continued to reload his gas gun and fire, but the more laser guns that the two of them disabled, the more laser guns seemed to be activated.

"This is pointless!" Liquidator shouted over to him, not using his advertising slogans for a change. "These things are just distracting us from taking out the real threat in this room. We've got to destroy the source of these guns or else we'll just be stuck shooting at these holograms forever until that thing decides to shoot at us again."

"Right." Darkwing shouted back as he aimed at a new target. "We've got to take out the control panel as quickly as possible. On the count of three, we shoot this thing together! One, two—"

"Darkwing, behind you!" He heard Launchpad shout at him as the monster above them shot its hot yellow beam directly at him and Liquidator. Hero and villain alike hastily scurried away from the incoming beam barely avoiding direct contact with the deadly beam.

The purple powerhouse rolled to the floor, coughing a bit at the smoke the beam had made after it was shot. Liquidator was standing beside him keeping a wary eye on the monster as its eye resumed its normal red color. Glancing around at the destruction, his breath caught in his throat as he realized he couldn't see his daughter anywhere.

"Gosalyn!" He shouted desperately, trying to see her through the smoke and steam. "Gosalyn, are you alright? Answer me!"

"I'm over here Darkwing!" She shouted back at him. He moved his gaze to the direction of her voice and spotted her standing on top of the control panel. Dread filled him as he realized that the holograms were all focused on her and thus, so were all their guns.

"Gosalyn, get away from there!" He cried fiercely getting to his feet, determined to get there before the guns started firing.

"Don't worry Darkwing! I have a plan." Gosalyn yelled back at him with a grin. Turning back to the skulls above her, she said, "Hey, down here you lame B movie rejects! I've seen childrens' programming that's scarier than you. You think you can hit me with those lame-o laser guns of yours? Let's see ya try!"

On cue, the laser guns started firing at where Gosalyn was standing, damaging the control panel beneath her feet. As she started running on top of the control panel, the guns followed her, causing so much damage to the machine that eventually all the holograms faded. The laser guns collapsed with the destruction of the machine.

Gosalyn jumped off the smoking machine and gave a whoop. "Piece of cake," she said as she admired her handiwork.

Darkwing put a hand over his palpitating heart and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Anger and relief were vying for his attention and he wasn't sure which one to act on. Thankfully, the Liquidator made the decision for him after he whistled and said, "True ingenuity. That little girl could be a great asset to my business if I could enlist her."

The masked mallard turned around and gave the liquid dog the best keep-away-from-my-daughter death glare that he could manage. Apparently it was a pretty good one because the smile disappeared from the Liquidator's face and he immediately put his hands up in front of him, taking a step backwards as he did so. A satisfied smirk settled on Darkwing's face as he turned away and started running for towards his spirited little girl. It was only then that he started hearing shouts from the other side of the room.

Launchpad and Bushroot were facing sideways from the control panel near them, waving their arms above their heads and shouting taunts at the eerie figure above while keeping an eye on the lasers behind them.

"What are they doing?" Darkwing muttered aloud before he saw the giant eye reappear and glow yellow, positioning itself so that it would not only hit his two allies on the floor but inadvertently hit the control panel behind them. Thinking it was a very risky move, but knowing there was no way to reach them in time, the hero regrouped with his daughter and the Liquidator, hoping beyond hope that he was not about to watch his best friend get roasted alive.

As the creature finally fired its beam, Launchpad and Bushroot dodged to the left, narrowly avoiding being caught in the deadly ray. The beam hit the control panel causing a large destructive blast that knocked both the pilot and the plant duck into the air, flinging them both towards the back of the room.

"Launchpad!" Darkwing and Gosalyn shouted at the same time as they watched him make a hard landing on the floor.

"Reggie!" He heard Liquidator shout at the same time before he got their attention and started gliding towards their fallen comrades. "Come on, let's go!"

Darkwing ran as quickly as he could to reach his fallen sidekick with Gosalyn and Liquidator close behind him. Just as he was about to reach Launchpad, the short mallards feet hit something that caused him to do a face plant into the floor.

"Ouch..." He muttered as he straightened out his flattened beak. The purple clad duck looked behind him to see what had tripped him, only to find nothing there. Puzzled, the masked mallard got back to his feet and slowly reached out towards the place where something had tripped him up. His hands found a smooth, rounded surface that seemed to be connected to another large control panel in the back.

"Did the terror that flaps in the night trip over his own feet?" The wet dog said with a chuckle. "Perhaps he would be interested in a pair of Liquidator night vision goggles if we survive the night." The Liquidator's advertisement brought him back to the matter at hand and he turned his head to see that Launchpad and Bushroot were both getting back on their feet. Relieved, he signaled them both to head towards the group before turning back to the watery villain.

"I didn't trip over my feet!" Darkwing responded with only mild irritation at the comment. "There's something down here, you just can't see it. Feel it for yourself if you don't believe me."

Liquidator cocked a watery eyebrow and leaned down to touch the object in question. He traced his watery hands along the surface with a puzzled expression. "Well, it seems the masked mallard isn't a complete klutz, but speculative viewers everywhere want to know if our local crime fighter has any idea what the item in question may be."

Darkwing continued to study the object for any clues of what it was. He couldn't shake the feeling that this thing was important somehow.

"Hey, do you feel that?" Gosalyn asked as she tore her hands off of it as the object jerked a bit. "I think it's moving!"

Launchpad and Bushroot joined them and Gosalyn gave them a brief explanation of why they were huddled around this spot. Launchpad bent down to touch it, following its length to the back of the room where a giant control panel was stationed.

"Gee, it feels like some kind of television cord." The pilot told the group with a scratch of his head. "Only a lot bigger and more powerful."

Darkwing snapped his fingers in triumph at his best friend's statement. "That's it! This thing is a power source! Do you know what that means?"

"Um, that monster up there gets great television service?" Launchpad said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"No!" Darkwing exclaimed in excitement. "It means that this cord is supplying the power for that ugly monster up there. I was wondering why he didn't just shoot that eye beam at us all the time. It must take an enormous amount of energy to charge that attack and this cord is what's supplying that energy. If we cut off the supply, we should be able to stop this thing it's its tracks."

"That's weird." Gosalyn said as she followed the cord up to where their enemy should be. "What kind of ghost needs electricity to function?"

"I-I think we're about to find out." Bushroot replied shakily as he pointed a leaf up towards the ceiling where the monster in question was beginning to come into view. It might have been his imagination, but he thought the thing looked angrier than before.

As the creature moved closer to them, Darkwing felt the cord move underneath his fingers. That clinched it for him and he knew if any of them were going to get out the base alive, they had to remove this cord at all costs. "I need time to come up with a way to remove the power source. We've got to keep it distracted while I come up with a plan."

"The great Liquidator offers his assistance in the matter." The liquid dog slid in front of the group and gave a small cocky bow. "With his unbelievable speed, the Liquidator will be running circles around this massive monstrosity in no time flat. Plus, not having a flesh and bone body will certainly be an asset in this case."

The masked mallard watched the monster above them warily and waved his hand impatiently at the Liquidator. "Yes, yes, we all know from your slogans that your powers are top notch. Just get going before we all start thinking that your advertising is all hype."

"'Hype?'" The aqua dog repeated indignantly as he glided away. "I'll make you eat those words before the night is over Darkwing Dunce."

"Be careful!" Bushroot called after him as the other villain sprayed the creature above them with a large splash of water to get its attention. The monster narrowed its eye and turned it his direction. The Liquidator continued to taunt it until the slit pupil glowed a softer yellow color and launched a smaller beam that followed the wet dog from behind as he slid around the floor.

"Well, what do we do now, DW?" Launchpad asked with a quick glance at the creature above them. "Liquidator can't distract that thing forever and I don't think that thing's gonna be too pleased when we start pulling on this cord."

"Then, we'll just have to do it before that monster notices." The purple powerhouse replied as he pulled up his sleeves and tried to get his arms around the invisible power source to no avail. It was just to bulky for him to get his arms around and pull on his own. "The cord is the root of the problem. We've got to get rid of it or we're not getting out of here in one piece!"

"'Root?'" Gosalyn repeated slowly before she clapped her hands together in excitement as she turned to the nervous plant duck near Launchpad. "That's it! Bushroot, can you ask some of your plant friends above us to lend us their roots? I bet they'll be powerful enough to unplug this cord!"

"Gee, I don't know if I can. I mean, they're pretty scared of this thing." He informed them as he rubbed his leaves together nervously. Both Gosalyn and Darkwing shot him piercing glares that made him quickly stammer out, "What I mean is, I'll give it a try. Hold on."

Bushroot closed his eyes and asked the trees above him if they could lend him their roots. He was hit by a wave of fear from all of them, one that threatened to overwhelm him. Pushing the feelings down, he did his best to reassure them that it would be the only way to defeat the monster they were so afraid of. They all hesitated for a moment longer before they agreed to help him pull out of the cord.

Thanking them profusely for their bravery, he raised his arms and motioned them downward. The ceiling above them bulged before large tree roots burst through the tiles, making their way down to the floor as quietly as possible. The botanist directed them to wind their roots tightly around the cord. When they were arranged as best as they could be, he gave the signal for them to start pulling.

Darkwing, Launchpad, Gosalyn and Bushroot all heard snapping sounds from above them as the roots began to pull the power source away from the monster. The intercom in the control room started buzzing with an ear piercing static that all of them took for the creature's screams. Covering their ears as best they could, they all watched as the monster near the ceiling thrashed about, shifting in and out of visibility. A final loud snap and the large black cord came into view as it crashed down on the floor.

The monster above them, now sparking from behind from the removal of its power source, flung itself unceremoniously into the ceiling, causing part of it to cave in and collapse.

"Look out!" Liquidator shouted to the others as large pieces of tile and dirt began to fall to the ground.

Darkwing and the others scattered quickly to avoid the debris that threatened to crush them. The masked mallard covered his beak with his cape as dust billowed around the room. He scanned the room quickly in search of his companions. Launchpad was standing not to far from him with Gosalyn riding on his back. Relieved that they were okay, he then searched for the two mutants and spotted Liquidator helping Bushroot back to his feet.

The purple powerhouse then turned his attention back to the sparking monster laying on its side on the floor. It was swaying back and forth in an attempt to right itself with a gaping hole in its back where the power cord used to be. The light from the ceiling exposed the traces of red and blue he had seen earlier to be wires that were now sparking with electricity.

Darkwing noticed that Liquidator had moved up beside him and had turned his right arm into a hose pointed directly at the sparking hole in the back of the monster's giant head. The shorter mallard nodded at the move and loaded his gas gun.

"All right Liquidator, let's put this thing's light's out." Darkwing raised his gas gun and aimed for the gaping whole. "Three, two one, fire!" He shouted as the two of them launched their attacks. The water and gas canister hit at the same time, causing an explosion on impact. A shrill sound came from the intercoms in the room before the creature lay still and everything grew quiet again.

A moment passed in silence as everyone waited to see if the monster was really dead. When it didn't move again, everyone in the room let out a victory cheer. Darkwing moved over to the fallen creature and knocked at it a couple times with his fist, a big smile on his beak as he launched into a speech.

"Once again, good has triumphed over evil at the hands of Darkwing—" The masked mallard was cut off as he got a big splash of water in the face. He sputtered for a minute before glaring at the smirking source of the water.

"This commercial interruption was brought to you by the Liquidator to remind all the friendly viewers at home that our local crime fighter would not be triumphant tonight if it weren't for the extraordinary powers of the Liquidator or the help of his leafy associate." Liquidator gestured towards Bushroot who merely nodded along.

"This is because I said your advertising was all hype, isn't it?" The purple clad duck muttered towards the wet dog as he wiped his face off with his cape. "Fine, your powers aren't false advertising and they were really useful. Happy?"

Liquidator crossed his arms over his chest smugly and nodded as the others came closer to the monster. Bushroot, Launchpad and Gosalyn walked around to the front of the creature and stared at the now lifeless eyes.

"I wonder what this thing was supposed to be?" Launchpad whispered softly, as if he was afraid the thing would come to life again if he spoke too loudly.

"I don't think I want to know." Bushroot whispered back just as quietly. "I just want to get out of here."

"How are we gonna get out of here anyway?" Gosalyn asked as she looked over towards the place where they came in. "The doors are still shut tight."

"Simple." Darkwing replied as he pointed to the hole in the ceiling. "My grappling hook should be able to reach that pretty easily. Come on, let's get out of here."

The masked mallard shot his grappling hook into the air, through the hole in the ceiling and latched it to ground. Darkwing started up the rope with Launchpad and Gosalyn close behind, Bushroot extended his arms upward, pulling him and Liquidator back up to the surface. The three normal ducks shielded their eyes from the bright light of the sun as it came over the horizon, while the plant duck nearby stood a little taller in the sun's rays.

"Oh, that's so much better!" Bushroot said with a long stretch. "I'm so happy we're out of there. I hate being coped up in dark places like that."

"That makes two of us." Launchpad said amiably. "If I never see the inside of that place again, it'll be too soon."

"All poll data shows that we've all had a rough night and are relieved that it's at an end." The Liquidator added with a tired yawn.

"Looks like it's not over yet." Gosalyn told the group, who looked at her curiously. She merely pointed in the direction of a group of figures rushing towards them, their pounding feet echoing through the forests.

Darkwing prepared his gas gun as they came closer, wondering if they were about to get in a fight with some FOWL agents. When it became clear that it was a group of SHUSH agents instead, Darkwing breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his gun. The lead agent, a tall bulldog in the standard SHUSH uniform stopped and saluted the shorter hero.

"It's good to see you again, Darkwing Duck. When the signal that was disrupting our equipment was shut down, J. Gander sent us to investigate what remains of the base. You can leave the rest of the investigation to us." Before Darkwing could say anything more, the bull dog gestured to the small Thunderquack hovering above his right shoulder. "J. Gander will be able to answer any questions you might have regarding the events of the night. Now, if you'll excuse us, we need to get to work."

The bull dog gestured towards his team and they started lowering roped down into the hole to get inside. In the mean time, the small Thunderquack positioned itself where Darkwing could see it. The windows of the plane drew back and a small computer screen popped up. The masked mallard, remembering the two villains who he'd teamed up with in the base, turned around quickly to get them out of the view of the computer screen before J. Gander came on. To his surprise, both of the mutants had already slipped away unnoticed. The trio glanced around to see if they could find the pair of villains before a voice from the computer got their attention.

"Are you alright, Darkwing Duck?" J. Gander asked from the computer screen. It seems he was still at SHUSH headquarters, while his agents were sent in to clean up the area.

"No need to worry, J. Gander." Darkwing said egotistically. "Not even a giant monster can stand up to the one and only Darkwing Duck."

Gosalyn rolled her eyes as the head of SHUSH nodded on the computer screen. "I had faith that you would be able to handle the situation Darkwing. You do bring a certain element of cunning that my agents do not possess."

"Naturally." The short mallard preened, looking at his finger nails nonchalantly.

"Um, excuse me, Mr. Gander sir." Launchpad cut in, bending down so that the head of SHUSH could see him. "I was just wondering **what** that thing was exactly. You wouldn't have any idea, would you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do have a theory, yes." J. Gander nodded genially on the screen. "Would you mind telling me what this 'thing' is that you met down in FOWL base."

Darkwing and Launchpad took a moment to describe what the creature looked like and the old bird nodded without a hint of surprise.

"Then it is as I had feared. FOWL was working on a sentient super computer."

All three of the ducks exchanged looks of disbelief before Darkwing said, "That **thing** was a computer? I thought it was some kind of hybrid mutation or something."

J. Gander shook his head slowly and continued, "The monstrous design of the machine was made to scare away potential attackers from the computer, while hiding its true form. The computer itself was designed to run the entire base by itself, while assessing threats to itself and other FOWL agents. If its full potential had been reached, it would have continued to demolish the forest around us to expand the base and been able to launch its own attacks against the enemies of FOWL."

"Okay, but there's one thing I don't get." Launchpad said with a scratch of his head. "Why would FOWL want the thing to be able to think on its own in the first place? Wouldn't that just make the thing more trouble than it was worth?"

"That has something to do with Taurus Bulba." J. Gander replied as he began to clean his glasses. "As I'm sure the two of you recall, Taurus Bulba was rebuilt as a cyborg by FOWL. They had hoped he would be grateful for their work and serve as one of their top agents. Well, after he failed to get his revenge on you, Darkwing, he left to get his revenge of FOWL. He's started crusading against them and has greatly decreased their numbers."

Darkwing, Launchpad and Gosalyn all shared a troubled look at this information. None of them were fans of the FOWL organization, but they also knew that nothing Taurus Bulba did ever led to anything good.

"Their lack of numbers has given them a severe personnel shortage. The organization needed to find some way to operate a few of their bases without having to send a large number of agents to run things. That's when they began building that super computer, hoping that it would be able to compensate for their recent losses.

"The computer itself would have been programmed to run the base and follow the orders of the High Command. This particular facility was meant to be a weapons facility, from which FOWL could launch missiles and any number of deadly weapons at any target that refused to give into their commands. They were planning to hollow out the trees in this forest and use them to hide their missiles and other weaponry in. They built several robots to help with the process of digging up and hollowing out the trees from below. Once that task was finished, several other FOWL robots were supposed to remain in the base to help maintain the computer.

"The computer was equipped with the latest in FOWL technology. If it had been completed, the eye laser beam would have had several different types of beams it would fire, instead of just the two you saw. It would have had an invisibility shield covering it completely, so that it could remain undetected even if enemy agents had made it into the room. It would have also had the ability to produce more holographic images, not just to scare away intruders but to lure them into traps that would destroy them.

"Obviously, the plan did not proceed as they had hoped." The old bird spoke with a grim expression. "It seems that before the project was finished, Taurus Bulba found them once more. The computer model was not finished and the damage done by Taurus Bulba must have disrupted the programming the FOWL agents had hoped to give it. Without the proper programming in place, the machine went out of control and attacked both friend and foe alike."

"Luckily, Darkwing Duck was here to put that malfunctioning malcontent machine in its place." The hero said with his typical flare, before it deflated as an idea struck him. "Say, J Gander, FOWL wouldn't happen to be building any more of these machines, would they?"

"I believe it's highly doubtful that they will try again, given the damage they've received from Taurus Bulba and the money they have wasted on this project. We should be safe from FOWL's plans for the time being."

"That's a relief." Darkwing wiped his the sweat from his forehead before recovering his typical swagger. "Not that I was worried or anything. Darkwing Duck is capable of handling ten of those sentient computers any night of the week!"

J. Gander nodded at the sentiment. "Thank you for all your help Darkwing. Your unique crime fighting style never ceases to amaze me."

"Anytime J. Gander. Darkwing Duck will always be ready to handle the tough cases."

"Thanks again, Darkwing Duck. I will contact you the next time we need your help." The computer flashed off and the small thunderquack flew away, back to SHUSH headquarters. As soon as it was gone, Darkwing began preening and crossed his arms over his chest. "Yep, yep, yep. Just another unorthodox case solved by the infallible and ingenious Darkwing Duck."

Gosalyn made a loud harrumph and tapped her foot on the ground, glaring at her father. Darkwing looked sheepish, tugged at his turtle neck and spoke again in a forced tone of voice.

"With some help from his trusty sidekick and his spunky number one fan."

Gosalyn cleared her throat again and made a hand motion to tell him to continue. He glared at her and continued on in a sullen voice.

"And with the help of two handy mutant criminals. Happy?" The purple clad duck hissed. Gosalyn only smiled innocently and nodded.

"Gee, where do ya think those two ran off to anyway?" Launchpad asked with a scratch of his head.

"They probably went home once they saw all the SHUSH agents roaming around here." Gosalyn said before turning to her father. "Do you think we should find them?"

"No need." Her father answered her with a yawn. "We're going the same way they are and we'll be in the Thunderquack. If they cause any trouble, we'll be sure to spot it when we're in the sky."

"You sure about that?" The red-haired duckling asked with her eyebrow cocked. It wasn't like her father to go easy on criminals.

"Positive." He spoke in a tone that said he didn't want to discuss the matter any longer. He didn't want to have to say out loud that he was actually trying to do the two of them a favor by letting them get away when they were both criminals wanted by the law. He yawned loudly. "Besides, going back to St. Canard sounds like a really good idea. I could use a nice long nap."

"Heh, that does sound real good." Launchpad nodded agreeably. "Maybe I can catch a few winks while I'm flying the Thunderquack."

"Please don't scare me." Darwking pleaded with him.

"How could you possibly want to nap after all this excitement?" Gosalyn demanded, practically bouncing up and down with energy. "We got to go through an abandoned base and defeat a living super computer with a giant laser eye! I can't wait to go over to Honker's house, play some video games and tell him all about it."

"Your forgetting one very important factor, young lady." The masked mallard said as the trio began walking back towards the Thunderquack.

"Which is?" The spirited duckling inquired cautiously, not liking the tone her father had taken.

"Your homework." Darkwing said with a finger in the air. "You know that tomorrow is a school day and your studies should always take priority over frivolity."

"Says who?" Gosalyn demanded.

"Says me, the all knowing and ever wise Darkwing Duck. I'm always right, you know."

"Are not!" The little red head shot back in annoyance.

"Are to!" The purple clad crime fighter retorted.

"Are not!"

"Are to!"

"Are _not!_"

"Are _to!"_

The argument continued for sometime as Liquidator and Bushroot watched them walk away, having stuck around to listen to the conversation between the head of SHUSH and Darkwing Duck. The green plant mutant heaved a sigh as the three heroes disappeared from sight, leaning against the trunk of a tree and wiping off his forehead with one hand.

"I'm sure glad that's over."

"The night certainly exceeded the Liquidator's expectations in terms of excitement." The water dog admitted and his sloshed over to his partner in crime. "So, inquiring minds want to know if your leafy friends are now at ease with that giant super computer disabled?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, they're just fine." Bushroot spoke absently, twiddling his leaves together.

Liquidator cocked a watery eyebrow at the less than enthusiastic answer. "Your savvy business partner thought you would be happier when we accomplished your goal. What's the matter?"

"Oh, well..." the mutant scientist trailed off and rubbed the back of his head, trying to collect his thoughts. "It's just, I'm a bit worried, you know, after what we just heard. I know we're villains, but Taurus Bulba is one of those big time legendary criminals. He may have disappeared for now, but what if SHUSH is right? What if he's planning something major in his down time?"

"And if he is?" The ex-salesman shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands. "Criminal records everywhere show that Taurus Bulba's plan would likely involve either getting lots of money, killing Darkwing Duck or both. The Liquidator doesn't think his grand scheme will involve targeting other villains like us."

"But he's already taking down FOWL!" Bushroot protested, wringing his hands together. "Who's to say he won't take down the rest of us too? What if he wants to be the one and only villain in all of St. Canard."

"Then, the local mechanical bull will find himself in some hot water. The Liquidator, a first class super villain in his own right, doesn't intend to go down easily. He's also quite sure that this statement will apply to many other villains in St. Canard." The aqua dog saw that his fellow mutant still didn't look convinced. He sighed and placed his hands on his shoulders, looking him straight in the eyes. "Personality experts everywhere claim that you worry too much, Reggie. There's no way to know what Taurus Bulba is up to and what good will it do you to continue fretting over it? If something does happen, then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." He patted Bushroot on the back. "Until then, we should focus on what's really important: coming up with our latest villainous scheme and increasing our profit margins!"

The pose along with boisterous voice eased most of Bushroot's tensions and made him smile. The water dog's confidence, though sometimes galling, was a source of comfort for the plant mutant. "I guess you're right..."

Liquidator smiled widely at the admission before placing his hands on his hips and sighing dramatically. "Speaking of profit margins, it really is too bad that those SHUSH agents had to show up here."

"Huh? How come?"

Liquidator cocked his head in confusion at the statement. "Well, because of the gold you told me about that the FOWL agents left behind. I'm sure the SHUSH agents must be collecting it all by now."

"Oh, that." Bushroot nodded quickly and looked away, flustered. "Yeah, it is too bad about that. Really too bad."

The hasty speech around the topic of the gold made Liquidator frown as he was beginning to suspect that the whole thing had been a hoax. He opened his mouth to say just that when Bushroot walked swiftly past him in the direction of St. Canard.

"Well, as you like to say Likky, time is money. Let's go home now, shall we?" Bushroot whipped around before he got a reply and started speed walking away. He only got a few paces away before his roots caught on something and he did a face plant in the dirt.

"Owwww!" The mutant scientist whined as he straightened up and rubbed his root feet.

"Did you trip over a tree root?" Liquidator asked with a hint of amusement.

"It's too hard to be any tree root." Bushroot remarked as he placed his hand over the object with moss grown over it. "I think it might be a handle of some kind. Lend me a hand. Maybe we can pull it up."

His partner in crime obliged him and wrapped his hands around the handle. Both of them gave a mighty pull and they heard the sound of hinges creaking. One more pull and they managed to pull open the door to a hidden cache. Liquidator sloshed over to the other side of the door and grinned widely at what he saw. He bent down and picked up a small bag of money.

"Well, well, looks as if the Liquidator will increase his profit margins after all." He picked up another bag and opened it with a greedy look on his face. All of his previous misgivings over the gold incident were forgotten as he looked down at all the bags of money.

"Wow, look at all that." Bushroot whistled in amazement before he turned back to the wet dog beside him. "Are you going to be able to carry all this back to St. Canard?"

"Am I made of H20?" The Liquidator countered with a grin on his face. "With the help of a few of your leafy associates, I'm sure we can haul this loot back to the sewers and I'll be able to carry it the rest of the way to St. Canard. I think they'd be willing to help us out after what we did for them today."

"You'd be right." The plant duck said with a grin as he beckoned some of his trees closer so that they could pick up the loot.

"Criminal studies everywhere show that the ever crafty Liquidator will always find a way to maximize the profits of himself and his associates." The watery dog ended smugly, smiling his winning smile at his partner in crime. "Come on, Reggie, let's go home."

Bushroot watched as the trees picked up the last of the loot and then he asked one of them to lift him up on their branches as they moved. They did as he asked and the trees moved behind Liquidator as he slid gracefully through the forest. The mutant plant duck relaxed in the bows of the tree, happy that the nightmare in Twin Beaks was finally over.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Well, that's the end for this fic! I'm sorry this took so long to complete, but I've been really busy lately.<p>

The parts with Taurus Bulba were actually inspired from conversations regarding the FOWL Disposition arc from the BOOM! comics. During the discussion, the idea was brought up that Bulba had destroyed FOWL before he went on to build the crime bots and take over the city. This split FOWL up into two organizations, one that was more like the old, high tech FOWL and another that was more into the super natural. Anyway, this story is supposed to take place in the short time before "The Duck Knight Returns" begins. I really want to do a story related to that and thus, this came into being.

Again, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!


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